The next decade has been described by the government as a ‘golden decade for sport’ due to the variety of international sport events that the UK is due to host. These include mega events such as the London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, major events such as the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and a large number of major showcase sport events including the World Squash Championships and the World Modern Pentathlon Championships. The UK is considered to be one of the leading nations in the sport event market and sport governing bodies (NGBs) in the UK maintain a strong reputation for staging well-organised sport events. However, bidding for the rights to host mega sport events, one-off events, and international showcase sport events has become more competitive over the last decade. There is a need to address the issues that NGBs face when bidding to host international sport events to ensure that the UK remains a competitive venue for sport events.

There are a number of commonly cited reasons why NGBs bid to host sport events. Previous research has shown that mega sport events, one-off events, and international showcase sport events have had a positive economic impact. Sport events have been used as a catalyst for regional economic development and urban regeneration, and are also perceived as a way to promote a city or region as a tourist destination. In the context of mega events, they can be used to improve the brand identity of a city on a global scale. Sport events require the development of sporting infrastructure and facilities that, with the development of an appropriate long-term legacy strategy, may result in increased participation levels. The hosting of a sport event may also help to build civic pride, increased community identity, and deliver social inclusion benefits that can be realised through community volunteer programmes. While these reasons are often put forward to justify a bid for a sport event, previous research has also shown that these factors can be overstated prior to a bid and during the bid phase in order to ensure that a bid is successful. It has also been argued that it is difficult to measure some of these impacts, particularly sporting developments and social and cultural impacts, due to the need for long-term evaluations.